Tag: "Kevin West"

WGOW, Chattanooga Gives Listeners News, Avoids Opinion and Conjecture During Initial Hours of Deadly Assault on Military Sites. News of the fatal shootings of four U.S. Marines at a recruiting center in Chattanooga and the wounding of others at a Naval facility seven miles away broke just a couple of hours before WGOW, Chattanooga talk host Brian Joyce was preparing to go on the air for his 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm program. Joyce tells TALKERS magazine that the station decided right away to go into full news mode to provide as much information to the public as possible and avoid opinion and conjecture. Joyce, program director Kevin West, and APD Bill Lockwood worked together to get the information that was trickling in on the radio. Joyce says he and West co-hosted his show while Lockwood gathered information from authorities. He says, “WGOW decided that there will be plenty of time to present opinions on radical Islam, gun laws, security at military facilities in the weeks to come, at that moment yesterday though, our job was to inform.” Joyce says they did put callers on the air if they were in the area and had something to report, but they were careful with what was said. “It was important that we don’t broadcast any misinformation and our call screeners were instructed to avoid that when putting people on the air.” Today, Joyce is on a planned vacation and the station has Robin Smith – the former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party – sitting in for him. She will be speaking with Tennessee’s U.S. Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander as well as other state and local officials as the station remains in information mode. Joyce says that when he’s back on the air next week, he’ll begin to delve into the opinions that will come in the aftermath of the attacks.

Entercom Closes on LFM Deal; Begins Operating Bonneville’s KSWD, Los Angeles. On the heels of this week’s announcement that Entercom Communications and the Department of Justice reached an agreement on its acquisition of Lincoln Financial Media’s radio stations comes today’s news that the deal has closed and it begins operating the stations today (7/17). Entercom is also beginning operation of Bonneville’s classic rock KSWD, Los Angeles “The Sound” under a Time Brokerage Agreement and Bonneville begins operating the four Denver stations it is acquiring from Entercom as part of the larger deal. Those Denver stations are: adult contemporary KOSI, country KYGO, and sports talkers KKFN-FM and KEPN. Closing of the Bonneville-Entercom station exchange is subject to FCC approval and other customary closing conditions. Entercom expects this transaction to close by the fourth quarter of this year.

WABC, New York to Air Rita Cosby’s Donald Trump Interview. There’s little question that the current poll success Republican candidate for president Donald Trump is enjoying means tremendous content for talk show hosts who get him for a guest on their show. WABC, New York’s Rita Cosby will air a conversation with the real estate magnate on her Sunday (7/19) 6:00 pm ET program. The station says, “Trump shares with Cosby and her listeners his unvarnished and often provocative views…Trump calls for a boycott of Mexico in light of its illegal immigration/border issues and the escape of El Chapo. He also discusses Bill Cosby and says they should take away his Medal of Freedom because, ‘He’s guilty as hell.’”

iHeartMedia Names Day to Political Marketing Post. Named to the SVP, political sales and strategy position for iHeartMedia is Kenny Day, who joins the company on July 23. He’ll report to president of national sales Jeff Howard. The company says that in this new role, Day will oversee its “political and advocacy efforts by building a Washington D.C.-based team focused on working with political and issue advertisers as well as advertising agencies to create custom strategies, campaigns and content” that leverage all the company’s platforms. Day was most recently director of platform solutions for unified programmatic video advertising platform BrightRoll. Day comments, “With the introduction of its innovative programmatic buying platform and the upcoming 2016 election, there could not be a more exciting time to be joining iHeartMedia. I look forward to the opportunity to provide iHeartMedia’s political and issue advertisers with the most targeted, effective, affordable and powerful ways to deliver their messages.”

Bonneville Names Bertrand Berry Host of Late Morning Show on KTAR-FM, Phoenix. The former Arizona Cardinals defensive star known as “B-Train” begins hosting the 10:00 am to 12:00 noon program on August when KTAR-FM “Arizona Sports 98.7 FM” replaces “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” with Bertrand Berry’s “Off the Edge with B-Train.” Berry says, “I’m so excited to add a new sound to the mid-mornings on ‘Arizona Sports.’ I can’t wait to share my opinions and connect with the bird gang and all of the great fans of the local teams in the Valley.” Bonneville Phoenix VP of content and operations Ryan Hatch says, “The local sports market continues to grow, and we’re very excited to add more local content with such a unique and dynamic personality like B-Train. He’s going to bring the same passion and energy he brought on game days to the Arizona Sports airwaves.”

Howie Carr Celebrates Tremendously Successful Launch of His Independent Regional Network. Approximately 100 affiliates, sponsors, staff and well-wishers of the Boston-based Howie Carr Radio Network gathered last evening (7/16) at the Wellesley, Massachusetts home of Howie and Kathy Carr. It was a festive party in celebration of the first seven months of Carr’s regional Northeast network now approaching a whopping 25 affiliates in all six New England states as well as attracting a significant listenership in neighboring New York. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison was in attendance and introduced Carr to the gathering stating, “Howie has created an example of regional talk networking that has attracted the attention of the entire industry.” Carr told the affiliates and sponsors at the poolside event how grateful he is for all the support his show has received since going independent in November of 2014, stating “thank you for sticking with us and believing in us.” Pictured at the party (l-r): Kathy Carr, VP sales and marketing, HCRN; Howie Carr and Michael Harrison.

Covering a Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti. The Salem Radio Network is reporting from Haiti this week on a “major humanitarian crisis unfolding in that island nation.” Vice president of news & talk programming Tom Tradup (pictured here with refugee children in Jimani, Haiti) tells TALKERS magazine, “The neighboring Dominican Republic has forced over 30,000 refugees (so far) over the border with Haiti and experts say Haiti — the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere — could eventually end up with over 200,000 refugees from the Dominican Republic. Tradup is working with the charity Food For The Poor. He adds, “The mainstream media spends its time hyping the Confederate Battle Flag and Donald Trump…while 90-minutes from Florida, men, women and children face starvation and death.” He says Salem Radio Network hosts Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Hugh Hewitt and others are incorporating live reports from Haiti, as are local hosts Joe Piscopo – on WNYM, New York – and Mark Davis and Jon-David Wells on KSKY, Dallas.

NBC Sports Radio Stars at American Century Championship. Pictured here at the celebrity golf tournament are NBC Sports Radio Network personalities Dan Schwartzman (left) and former New York Giants great Amani Toomer (right) with former NBA superstar Charles Barkley (center). The 26th edition of this golf tourney is taking place at Edgewood and Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Schwartzman and Toomer are broadcasting their daily show from the event, as is fellow host Mark Malone. Weekend coverage of the tournament will take place with NBC personalities Rodney Harrison and Brian Webber.

Talk Hosts on Broadway. The radio personalities you see here aren’t performing on Broadway, but they were at the opening performance of the new show “Amazing Grace” now playing at the Nederlander Theatre. The play is based on the life of John Newton, longtime 18th Century slave trader and composer of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Pictured here (from l-r) are: actress Sam Sorbo (syndicated weekly by TRN), XtreMedia’s Kevin McCullough, and Salem Radio Network’s Eric Metaxas.

Iran Nukes Deal Tops Talkers TenTM for Week of July 13-17. The U.S.-led deal with Iran for its nuclear program was the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio during the week. At #2 were the activities of the candidates for president in 2016. Coming in at #3 was the deadly assaults on the Chattanooga military facilities, and following at #4 was Caitlyn Jenner’s speech at Wednesday’s ESPY awards. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. View this week’s entire chart here.

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WGOW, Chattanooga Talk Host Brian Joyce Gets Facebook Suspension; Station Won’t Discipline. According to a story at Nooga.com, management at Cumulus Media-owned news/talk WGOW, Chattanooga will not discipline “Live and Local” show host Brian Joyce after he was suspended from his Facebook account after posting what’s being termed a satirical comment relative to the George Zimmerman–Trayvon Martin case. The story indicated Joyce was flagged by a Facebook friend after posting the following: “Come to think of it, I’m not so sure Hitler was a bad guy. He wasn’t killing Jews, he was simply defending himself and his people against the Jews. He said so himself on many occasions. Granted the Jews had never done anything to Hitler, but then again Trayvon Martin had never done anything to George Zimmerman. This is not murder, it’s not manslaughter. Heck, it’s not even assault with a deadly weapon! It’s self-defense. So how come Hitler gets such a bad rap? If it weren’t for race baiters like the Jews, we probably never even would have heard of Adolph Hitler.” WGOW program director Kevin West told Nooga.com he and Joyce discussed the matter. “We had a conversation and emphasized that most people aren’t going to understand satire. Some people just think literally. I do want to stress that in no way does Brian Joyce believe Hitler was a good man.”

Genesis Communications Network Debuts ‘The Take with Charles Butler.’Genesis Communications Network adds “The Take with Charles Butler” to its lineup of programs. The show airs live from 8:00 am to 10:00 am ET and is based in Chicago. The network describes him as “one of the most didactic radio show hosts of our time. He is known for his keen, conservative political views. Since 2007, Charles has discussed education reform, economics, gun violence, illegal immigration, national, state, and local elections, political maneuvers and all hot topics affecting Chicago, Springfield, Washington, D.C. and the international issues and the key players.”

Envision Radio Networks Announces Debut of New Feature: ‘Brand Like a Rock Star with Steve Jones.’Envision Radio Networks introduces a new, daily 60-second feature titled “Brand Like a Rock Star with Steve Jones” that “helps listeners learn life lessons from rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest bands.” Envision states that “using advice from his international best-selling book, Brand Like a Rock Star: Lessons From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Make Your Business Rich and Famous, host Steve Jones takes listeners backstage to reveal the core marketing secrets of rock legends and shows how those strategies can be put into use in everyday life. Jones says, “For every entrepreneur, business owner, marketer, or anyone building their personal brand and career, ‘Brand Like a Rock Star’ is a must-listen.” Describing the show, Envision states that by using rock legends as examples, Jones takes an entirely fresh perspective to self-help. How can you build a brand as consistent as AC/DC? What does it take to start a company as distinct as Bob Dylan? How can you create a business as attention-getting as KISS? Each day, Jones will share a powerful story from rock music history and clearly illustrate how it can be applied to achieve success.

Salem’s Bainbridge, Washington Transmitter Building Destroyed by Fire. The transmitter building for Salem Communications’ talk KLFE and Spanish religion KNTS in Seattle was destroyed after a fire broke out in the facility. Local authorities say the fire started in the 12×12 transmitter building but soon spread to the grassy area outside. Firefighters were called and were able to keep it from spreading too far – a good thing as they note the dry conditions this year could have made it much worse had a local police officer not notice it and called in fire personnel immediately.

Red Zebra Adds Redskins Great Chris Cooley to Game Day Broadcasts. Former Washington Redskins Pro Bowler Chris Cooley becomes part of Red Zebra Broadcasting’s Washington Redskins Radio Network as an in-game contributor. As part of the multi-year deal, “Cooley’s Corner” will be heard quarterly, every game beginning with the pre-season opener in Tennessee on August 8. Cooley joins Redskins Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, Rick “Doc” Walker and Brian Mitchell as former Redskin players who are members of the Washington Redskins Radio Network. Redskins Radio Network executive producer Chuck Sapienza says, “To add a talent and fan favorite like Chris to our team will bring excitement to our broadcast and a level of unpredictability for our listeners.”

Filling in This Week. KDWN, Las Vegas talk show host Alan Stock is sitting in for Talk Radio Network nationally syndicated host Rusty Humphries today and tomorrow (7/17-18) as well as next Monday and Tuesday (7/22-23). Stock tells TALKERS, “It means doing double duty but it’s a blast!”…..Sports talk host Dan Sileo is preparing to fill in on August 2nd and 5th on KLAA, Los Angeles sitting in for Travis Rodgers on the morning drive program. The temp gig is a reuniting of Sileo and KLAA PD Bob Agnew who gave Sileo his start in sports talk radio on KNBR, San Francisco many years ago.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America Announces New Board Members. The Broadcasters Foundation of America announces it has named four new members and a new officer to its board of directors. The new members were voted in during the recent board meeting, held in New York City. Saying the new board members “represent a cross-section of radio and television broadcasters, the BFoA welcomes: Brian Cobb, president, CobbCorp; Bill Hoffman, president, Cox Media Group; Brian Lawlor, senior vice president, television, E.W. Scripps TV Station Group; and Dan Mason, president and chief executive officer, CBS Radio. At the same time, the BFoA announces Katz Television Group president and chief executive officer Leo MacCourtney as a new officer. BFoA chairman Phil Lombardo says, “I am proud to welcome these highly accomplished broadcasters and industry leaders to our board. Their example of giving back to our industry by serving as a board member or officer is inspiring. I hope it will motivate others who work in broadcasting to identify ways they can help advance our cause of delivering financial relief to our colleagues who are struggling under the harshest of circumstances.”

Zimmerman Verdict Aftermath, Tsarnaev Rolling Stone Cover, ObamaCare Implementation, and the Edward Snowden Case Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (7/16). The aftermath of the George Zimmerman verdict; Rolling Stone magazine’s controversial cover featuring the surviving Boston Marathon bomber; the debate over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act; and the status of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio, according to ongoing research from TALKERS.